Happy Holidays everyone! I hope it has been a wonderful Christmas / holiday / dividend season for all.

This was our first holiday season in the United States since we first hit the road back in 2012… 9 years ago?

It’s been… different.

For both Thanksgiving and Christmas we spent time with family.

We travelled to my home town for Thanksgiving, spending the day at my aunt & uncle’s house, a place I spent a lot of time as a kid. Grandma was able to meet her youngest great-grandchild and it was great to see everybody. On Saturday my brother cooked a turkey on the grill and fun was had by all.

It was a weird time to travel – The rental car I had booked for this trip back in June had dropped in price by 50%. All I had to do was cancel the old reservation and reserve a car with a different rental company. And thanks to the power of vaccines and masks we were all able to avoid any other unpleasantness.

Merry Christmas!

For Christmas my mom/sister/nephews came to visit. Winnie cooked an incredible meal, which was so amazing that we almost got no pictures at all.

in-born pork roast, slow cooked on charcoal grill

chocolate strawberry cream cake

Being new to the United States and the neighborhood, we tried to do all the holiday things. There was the obligatory photo with Santa…

Ho ho ho!

…and the neighbors all got a little something from their favorite newcomers.

strawberry meringue

We were hoping to get a bit of snowboarding in over these holiday weeks, but record snowfalls in Tahoe have closed roads due to excessive snow, downed trees, and downed power lines – “avoid Sierra travel” is the phrase the authorities are using. At least the lake level is rising daily and there are months of ski season remaining.

Hopefully not a tradition, but we also spent part of Christmas night in the emergency room. Everybody will be fine, but things may have been a bit too hectic during this holiday season – we will probably be home and in bed when 2022 arrives.

Have a safe and joyous new year!


I’ve been largely offline these past weeks and will remain so for another two or three. Here are a few of the more popular posts of 2021 and a few classics to keep everyone entertained until 2022. Requests for new content warmly welcomed.

Most popular posts of 2021

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 – a nice piece of legislation
Asset Allocation 2021 – how we are invested
Scared to Death of Early Retirement No More – nothing to fear
Millionaires Don’t Buy New Cars – or do they
Playing with House Money – the illogic of buying a house

GCC classics

Never Pay Taxes Again – it’s easy
Great Roth Controversy – to Roth or not to Roth
Renters for Life – still seems like a good idea
Path to 100% Equities – the bull case for equity investing
GCC vs The RMD – lifetime tax minimization

Highly trafficked content

Federal Income Tax Calculator – calculates your Roth conversions and capital gain harvests
Archives – all the posts!
Frequently Asked Questions – ask away

To whet the appetite

Award Travel Series: Getting to Hawaii for Free with Ultimate Rewards – fun in the sun
Award Travel Series: Flying to Europe for Free with Ultimate Rewards – culture awaits


We wish you all a warm and joyous holiday season and a happy new year. Thank you for reading, sharing, and telling all of your friends! ;)

Jeremy, Winnie, Julian, & Jaiden
Go Curry Cracker!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!